Major chunk of ADP funds may be spent on flood rehab

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to spend a major share of funds from the Annual Development Plan (ADP) on rehabilitation in the flood-hit areas and has directed district coordination officers to survey for losses.

The country has suffered unprecedented damages caused by the worst floods in its recorded history, and the disaster has left millions homeless.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that the government will revise the Annual Development Plan under which Rs115 billion has been allocated for 1,766 different schemes in the province, and until then, it has been decided to freeze this amount.

Sources said that the Benazir Bhutto Income Support Programme — under which each woman gets Rs1,000 per month — is likely to be scrapped or its funds might be slashed.

A meeting will be convened on August 19 by the Sindh chief secretary to discuss the project’s fate. “An amount of Rs7 billion has been allocated in this project for 0.7 million women,” the sources said, adding, “It’s likely that this amount will be transferred for rehabilitation purposes.”

The gushing waters of the floods are now headed towards the major cities of the province situated on the right side of the Indus River after inundating hundreds of villages in the riverine areas.

Parliamentarians with the assistance of locals are trying to save their own cities and towns by making cuts in the embankments of canals so that the water flow could be diverted towards other areas.

Jacobabad

Talking to The Express Tribune, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Abdul Rahim Khan Khoso said the water has entered Soomra Muhalla, which is adjacent to Jacobabad city, affecting around 30,000 people.

“Jacobabad city is safe for now, but it still faces the flood threat,” he warned, adding that water has entered the grid station.

“The water flow has reduced slightly, but until there is pressure at Tori Bund, the threat to the city will persist,” he said.

In an effort to save Jacobabad city, the by-pass road has been broken at two different points to divert the water towards Balochistan. He justified the move by saying that there was no major city located where water had been allowed to flow into Balochistan.

“The water will enter the hilly areas there (Balochistan) before being discharged into the Right Bank Outfall Drain and Manchar Lake.” Rojhan Jamali in Balochistan has been inundated by its own overflowing canals, he claimed. “Osta Mohammed in Balochistan might also be affected if the water pressure continues,” Khoso said.

A tehsil and 19 union councils of Thul district have also been submerged.

Shikarpur

Adviser to CM Sindh Imitiaz Shaikh said floodwaters have reached Shikarpur and its distributaries and canals are overflowing. “We have diverted the water flow by breaking the railway track linking Jacobabad and Shikarpur, and now the water is heading towards the Khirthar range, which is its natural route,” he said. A large number of displaced people from the surrounding areas have reached Shikarpur, but no welfare organisation has come to their aid yet.

Dr Sikandar Shoro, a PPP MPA who hails from Jamshoro, told The Express Tribune that the Kotri Barrage and cities that fall in his area face no threat. However, many villages in the kachcha areas including Budha Pur, Tilo Khoso, Hashim Chichir and Abidabad Goth have been inundated by the floods.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.